"Start-Up". You had me at RGB.

I loved it. I mean, I really loved it. I've got a lot to say so buckle up.

Finale Loves

- Dal Mi not needing help anymore. Though it hurt JP that he wasn't needed there, the growth she had as a character was exciting to see.

- Grandma and Do San's reunion! He really did help her and change her life. The knitted cactus!

-Grandma realizing with Do San and Dal Mi together how hurt JP would be and going to see him. That bond of those characters was JP's real love story. That love Grandma gave him was exactly what he needed and craved. Family first.

-JP finding his passion project. The orphan/mentor start up. (Funny cameo there!)

-I loved JP and Dal Mi's closure. Him saying that he never once thought of her in 15 years after the letters but it only took one letter for Do San to go to her. That was a huge growth of character and I'm glad that JP and Dal Mi can be friends again and part of his found family.

-Do San and JP tentative friendship. The handshake made me laugh so hard. I am glad Do San explained why he didn't want the first investment and JP understood. The hug and laugh at the end felt like Joo Hyuk and Seon Ho.

-The new renters of the old SamSan Tech space. The boys realizing how far they have come and the Dad's acknowledgement of the past hurt he gave Do San but hanging the sign to remind him not to be so harsh.

-The sisters being sisters and In Jae paying for the bet.

-In Jae coming back to the family. Taking her father's name. The whole scene at the table and Grandma remembering the Seo family as it was. That's was beautiful.

-Chul San and Saha just being cute.

-The photos at the end telling the present story and the power team walking together!

-Probably the best all around finale of all 91 dramas I've finished this year. I am so glad the romantic resolution took place in episode15 so the show could focus on the company and the overall relationships of the characters.

Characters

There wasn't a single main character or supporting character I didn't like. Sometimes I liked certain characters more than others though!

Dal Mi- Bae Suzy was wonderful in this role. The scene where Do San called her for the first time in three years and she broke down silently was so beautiful. How she went from not knowing anything about tech to being the CEO of not one, but two companies. She literally self made herself. That's a very inspirational character. I loved how in the end, she was making all the decisions- work, personal life with a confidence she didn't have in the beginning.

Do San- My favorite character. I loved him so much. All his awkward, lack of social and relationship skills self. Probably the most character growth. Growing up with a father that pressured you to succeed at any cost, even the cost of your childhood is emotionally damaging. Then how he "cheated" to be the math champ and keeping that inside so long so as not to disappoint the family. I felt like once he was able to confess that he just grew so much. You could almost see the weight lift. Nam Joo Hyuk elevated himself in this role. I felt every bit of his pain and angst and I just really needed him to be happy in the end with his life choices and he was.

Ji Pyeong- I felt he to had some nice character growth. I don't think before the three years time jump he would have told Dal Mi what he had led Do San to believe about their relationship. I like that he learned words hurt. I like that he allowed himself to be part of the family unit. From someone that had nothing, he really only wanted that family unit. I think he craved that more than anything. I do hope he can find a girl to love him the way he deserves to be loved. One of my favorite scenes was with Do San and JP overhearing Do San tell his Mom that he wanted to pack some special side dish for him because that's his favorite. You could see JP hated that Do San did that but at the same time, that was the catalyst for him to step aside and make Dal Mi's happiness come first. Kim Seon Ho wasn't a new actor to me but a lot of people were introduced to him and I'm glad for him. Seriously, spend a little part of each day watching Two Days, One Night S4 and you will appreciate him more.

I did think it an interesting juxtaposition of the two male lead characters. One who had been seemingly given so much but in the end had very little unconditional support or confidence and the other had nothing given to him and had all the fortune and success and confidence but lacked the family that he so craved. The boys probably would have been good friends in the beginning if not for Dal Mi and I needed them to be friendly because they were now part of a found family. In the end, they both got what they needed out of life and that makes for a happy ending for me.

The Tech Boys- The relationship they all had with each other was so solid. Yeah they would fight but they always forgave and came back to each other. One of my favorite plots was that they all individually decided that being business owners wasn't for them, they craved the work of the coding and building the tech but didn't want any of the admin stuff. That's why the whole Samsan Tech team was so special. They were most successful all together- all the boys and girls. Saha and Chulsan were pretty cute and I'm happy she took the initiative and went for it.

Grandma and Dal Mi's family. What a kind soul Grandma was. Her relationship with Ji Pyeong was one I wished had gotten a bit more focus. I felt Ji Pyeong more than anything needed Grandma's love and approval. The fixed relationship between Grandma and her daughter in law. It was a relationship I didn't know I needed in the beginning but when DIL leased a business just to give Grandma a little more incentive to get out of bed each day, I had a few pangs in my heart. In Jae- probably the character with the least focus but even she got some character growth. Her confessing about the origin of the swing/sand story and deciding to give her sister a chance at her company all good things. By the end, the sisters were sisters. Bickering over who's head was the biggest. They may never be as close as they were but I have hope for them.

The Overall Story

Overall, I felt the script and the characterizations were very consistent. Was it perfect? No. The main flaw was the plot point of not having a lawyer look at the contract but that really was just an annoying plot point. Ji Pyeong had he been at Demo Day could have likely seen that coming, but he couldn't be there for that plot to work. And it was there so show the difference three years made in how they handled the scum reporter in the final episode. All the characters had value and were written very consistent. The story was weaved tight and I enjoyed each subplot.

The love line.

I am happy with the love line. Yes it was angsty but to me this wasn't a real triangle because I never once thought Dal Mi was interested in Ji Pyeong. To me the real triangle was DoSanLetters and DoSanReality and Dal Mi. Once she realized that DoSanLetters wasn't really DoSan the letters weren't important because she wasn't interested in the DoSanLetters that Ji Pyeong/Grandma concocted. She was already heart invested in DoSanReality. The letters from the beginning started out as just words on a page that Grandma and a 19 year old told a 13 year old to comfort her. Maybe they took a more personal approach towards the end, maybe they didn't, we just didn't get enough of the content to know. The letters served their purpose when she was 13 and she held onto them for far longer than was probably healthy but at 13 years old that's what we do. We crush on romantic things and build up romance in our heads. Obviously the letters didn't impact Ji Pyeong like the did Dal Mi as he forgot about her/the letters and he couldn't even really remember what he wrote back then. Even in the finale he said, they comforted him at that time but didn't really have a lasting impact on him.

Do San loved her with a pure heart. Yes he set out to help Ji Pyeong but the first moment he laid eyes on Dal Mi it was game over for him. Everything he did was to help her. From wanting to give her control over the company, to giving her grandmother sight, to developing a pills recognition program and for trying to research start up lawsuits for her. He was crushed by her words and even three years couldn't heal those wounds. Same for Dal Mi. I mentioned the phone call scene above but she missed him and was so affected by him in just those three months. In the end the reason Dal Mi liked Do San had nothing to do with the letters or hand size, but she liked him because he was Do San and that is all she needed and really that was the best possible reason why for me.

I intentionally didn't talk about the "team" wars much. I thought the rhetoric that went on about which "team" you were on and the eventual nastiness that drug the actors into it was ridiculous and frankly shocking. Like what you like but be respectful to the opinions of others and don't diss the actors. Period. Even if you take away the main love line this was an absolutely beautiful drama- filled with love and hope and it really made my heart swell. I feel bad for the viewers that missed that because all they could see was the "triangle". Around episode 9,10 I muted all the tags and names I could and just really watched the whole show without trying to justify what I liked and why online, it became even more a favorite. No one should ever have to justify why they like a show as long as the show isn't doing vile things to people, animals etc...you know what I mean.

Rating

I looked back at the handful of 5/5 ratings I have given out this year for 2020 shows and it was 2. Hospital Playlist and Memorist and decided this deserved to be the third one.

So my rating is a 5/5. Absorbed by it. Can't find major flaws. Made me really feel the story. I will miss these characters a lot.